Video of officers beating College Park student stirs ire

Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna

The chief of the Prince George's County Police Department expressed outrage in April over a video showing three police officers beating a University of Maryland student - a clip that spread virally and upset students at the College Park campus who said they are already mistrustful of police. Flanked by three dozen officers from his command staff, Chief Roberto L. Hylton said he was angered by the beating, which occurred March 3 as more than 1,500 Maryland fans raucously celebrated a basketball win over rival Duke University. "We're not going to tolerate this inappropriate behavior by any of our employees," Hylton said. "I was very disappointed to see the conduct of the officers on that tape." As the video spread on national television and the Internet, it elicited accusations that Prince George's County police often overreact during celebrations in Colege Park. Hylton portrayed the incident as the actions of a few officers and denied that it indicates a department-wide problem. "They crossed the line," senior Auston Edwards, above, said of the three county police officers captured on camera. He saw the video Tuesday afternoon when a classmate in his African-American literature class pulled up CNN's Web site on his laptop.

The chief of the Prince George's County Police Department expressed outrage in April over a video showing three police officers beating a University of Maryland student - a clip that spread virally and upset students at the College Park campus who said they are already mistrustful of police. Flanked by three dozen officers from his command staff, Chief Roberto L. Hylton said he was angered by the beating, which occurred March 3 as more than 1,500 Maryland fans raucously celebrated a basketball win over rival Duke University. "We're not going to tolerate this inappropriate behavior by any of our employees," Hylton said. "I was very disappointed to see the conduct of the officers on that tape." As the video spread on national television and the Internet, it elicited accusations that Prince George's County police often overreact during celebrations in Colege Park. Hylton portrayed the incident as the actions of a few officers and denied that it indicates a department-wide problem. "They crossed the line," senior Auston Edwards, above, said of the three county police officers captured on camera. He saw the video Tuesday afternoon when a classmate in his African-American literature class pulled up CNN's Web site on his laptop. (Baltimore Sun photo by Algerina Perna)

The chief of the Prince George's County Police Department expressed outrage in April over a video showing three police officers beating a University of Maryland student - a clip that spread virally and upset students at the College Park campus who said they are already mistrustful of police. Flanked by three dozen officers from his command staff, Chief Roberto L. Hylton said he was angered by the beating, which occurred March 3 as more than 1,500 Maryland fans raucously celebrated a basketball win over rival Duke University. "We're not going to tolerate this inappropriate behavior by any of our employees," Hylton said. "I was very disappointed to see the conduct of the officers on that tape." As the video spread on national television and the Internet, it elicited accusations that Prince George's County police often overreact during celebrations in Colege Park. Hylton portrayed the incident as the actions of a few officers and denied that it indicates a department-wide problem. "They crossed the line," senior Auston Edwards, above, said of the three county police officers captured on camera. He saw the video Tuesday afternoon when a classmate in his African-American literature class pulled up CNN's Web site on his laptop.